Key takeaways
- States with the highest collective student loan debt ranged from $51.6 to $151.4 billion.
- While California ranked the highest in total debt, only one-third of undergraduates at four-year institutions took out loans.
- Texas ranked second when it came to total student loan debt by state, but was 38th among all states in the average debt amount per borrower.
- Wyoming ranked last among states in total student loan debt, but only had 55,600 borrowers in 2024.
Student debt is a problem that affects millions of Americans nationwide — and no state is exempt. However, student loan debt by state isn’t distributed evenly. Factors such as the number of public schools versus private schools in the state, the number of students, available grants and the average cost of living all impact how much federal and private student debt students must take on to pay for their degree.
Below is a list of the states with the highest and lowest student loan debt using the latest available data.
Top 10 states with the most student loan debt
Although the states below have the highest overall student loan debt, ranging from $51.6 billion to a whopping $151.4 billion, their students don’t necessarily borrow more to pay for school. Some states simply carry more debt because they have more institutions and students than other states.
This also contributes to state aid being more scarce, as it must be split among a larger population, forcing students to take out federal and private student loans to fill the financial gap. So, which state has the most student loan debt? We used the latest data from the U.S. Department of Education to find out.
California
- Number of student loan borrowers: 3,949,400
- Total student loan debt owed: $151.4 billion
- Average student debt per borrower: $38,330
Only one-third of undergraduates at four-year institutions (33 percent) borrowed in California for the 2019-20 academic year, which is well below the national average of 44 percent. By institution type, 46 percent of students at nonprofit private schools borrow and 55 percent at for-profit schools.
However, California offers generous student debt relief programs for graduates working in teaching, mental health, nursing and other medical fields willing to relocate to high-need areas. In 2016, the state also championed its California Promise Program, which offers free college tuition at select institutions for eligible low-income students to make college more accessible and reduce borrowing.
Texas
- Number of student loan borrowers: 3,887,100
- Total student loan debt owed: $131.4 billion
- Average student debt per borrower: $33,800
While Texas is ranked second when it comes to total student loan debt by state, it ranks 38th among the states in the average debt amount per borrower based on 2024 data.
Things have also been improving in the past few years, thanks to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s 60x30TX initiative. Launched in 2015, the 60x30TX initiative aims to make college more affordable so that student debt represents no more than 60 percent of first-year wages for people who graduated from Texas public institutions — a goal that has been met consistently since 2018.
The board predicts that by 2030, at least 60 percent of Texans aged between 25-34 will have a certificate or degree.
Florida
- Number of student loan borrowers: 2,719,200
- Total student loan debt owed: $107.5 billion
- Average student debt per borrower: $39,530
Close to half of Florida’s college students graduate with student loans. Six percent of them have costlier private loans; these borrowers owe an average of $30,232 in private student loans.
However, the Sunshine State has multiple grants and scholarships to reduce borrowing among college students. Florida also has student loan repayment assistance programs for graduates working in the legal, medical, dental and education fields, among others, which can help graduates wipe out a significant portion of their education debt.
New York
- Number of student loan borrowers: 2,476,600
- Total student loan debt owed: $96.3 billion
- Average student debt per borrower: $39,880
According to 2024 data, New York ranks 8th among states with the highest average student debt per borrower.
It is estimated that roughly 1 in 5 New Yorkers have some debt related to higher education, while 1 in 6 had student loans in 2020, according to a report by the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. But despite these numbers, the state of New York has more student loan repayment assistance programs than any other state on our list — and in a variety of fields, ranging from social work to farming.
Georgia
- Number of student loan borrowers: 1,696,400
- Total student loan debt owed: $71.5 billion
- Average student debt per borrower: $42,150
Georgia has the highest rate of outstanding student loan debt at 15.4 percent. Georgia also ranks second when it comes to the highest average student loan debt per borrower, second to only Maryland.
In addition to several student loan repayment assistance programs, which mainly target those working in healthcare, the Georgia Student Finance Authority offers prospective students low-cost loans with a fixed interest rate of 1 percent to reduce borrowing costs.
Pennsylvania
- Number of student loan borrowers: 1,862,700
- Total student loan debt owed: $67.5 billion
- Average student debt per borrower: $36,240
Pennsylvania has the highest percentage of graduates with private student loan debt on our list at a staggering 22 percent.
On the bright side, Pennsylvania also has several state-specific programs to help students with the cost of their degrees. In August 2024, Governor Shapiro even announced a $22 million investment to eliminate student loan debt for substance use disorder workers.
Illinois
- Number of student loan borrowers: 1,623,400
- Total student loan debt owed: $63.4 billion
- Average student debt per borrower: $39,050
While the average amount borrowed in the state of Illinois comes out to be $39,050, these numbers vary widely by institution type. For the 2022-2023 academic year, the annual cost for public four-year institutions came out to be just $2,400 and $52,800 at private four-year nonprofit institutions.
Among the 13 percent of Illinois residents with student loan debt, over half (52 percent) are under the age of 35.
Illinois residents working in certain sectors, including education, health care and public law, can get up to four years of student loan repayment assistance through the Illinois Student Assistance Commission.
Ohio
- Number of student loan borrowers: 1,785,700
- Total student loan debt owed: $62.6 billion
- Average student debt per borrower: $35,060
Ohio is the 28th state in terms of average student debt per borrower.
To minimize the burden of student debt, some colleges in the state, including Columbus State Community College and Ohio University, have created programs that include scholarships and even free tuition. Several institutions across the state are also currently offering student debt relief programs for students who didn’t finish their degrees due to financial hardship and wish to return to college.
North Carolina
- Number of student loan borrowers: 1,372,500
- Total student loan debt owed: $53.3 billion
- Average student debt per borrower: $38,830
In North Carolina, more than half of college graduates left school with student debt during the 2019-29 academic year. The current average debt per borrower nears the $40,000 mark.
In an effort to reduce borrowing among future college students, the state has established a Promise Tuition Plan. Under this plan, students will pay only $500 per semester for in-state tuition and $2,500 for out-of-state tuition at four University of North Carolina System campuses. North Carolina also offers several student loan repayment assistance programs for health care professionals and social workers, some of which offer up to $50,000 in debt relief.
Michigan
- Number of student loan borrowers: 1,394,200
- Total student loan debt owed: $51.6 billion
- Average student debt per borrower: $37,010
As of 2024, nearly 14 percent of the population in Michigan has some form of student debt. This figure may continue dropping as more residents find an increasing number of alternatives to college to avoid debt. While the median annual salaries of students five years after graduating came out to be $49,757 to $85,000 among Michigan’s 15 public universities, the average federal student debt amount ranged from $19,500-$27,000.
Michigan also boasts several state-specific loan repayment options. For example, the state offers a program to help public school employees with their federal student loans. The program provides up to $400 a month to go towards borrower’s loans. To qualify, employees must work 32 hours or more per week at a school district.
Further, the state offers debt relief programs for professionals working in other high-need areas in fields like healthcare, in addition to scholarships and grants.
States with the least student loan debt
The following states have the lowest overall student loan balance. However, it’s worth pointing out that they also have substantially fewer borrowers than the states listed above. For instance, according to the Department of Education, Wyoming only had 55,600 borrowers in 2024, while California had nearly four million.
Additionally, Angelique Palomar, a spokesperson for The Institute for College Access and Success, stresses that a low overall debt balance doesn’t mean that students in these states graduate with less debt than the states mentioned above.
“For example, the 2019-20 in-state tuition and fees for four-year and above institutions in California was $15,982, compared to $45,145 for D.C.,” Palomar says. “There is also a big difference in total cost of attendance for students living on campus in these states: $37,955 for California versus $65,087 in D.C.”
These factors may help explain why D.C. borrowers carry an average student loan balance that’s 42 percent higher than California borrowers, even though the state carries substantially less debt overall.
| State | Total student debt(in billions) | Average debt per borrower |
|---|---|---|
| Wyoming | $1.7 | $30,580 |
| Alaska | $2.4 | $35,610 |
| North Dakota | $2.6 | $29,150 |
| Vermont | $2.9 | $37,610 |
| South Dakota | $3.7 | $31,000 |
| Montana | $4.4 | $34,240 |
| Hawaii | $4.8 | $38,900 |
| Rhode Island | $4.9 | $33,060 |
| Delaware | $5.3 | $39,110 |
| District of Columbia | $6.4 | $54,470 |
| Maine | $6.5 | $34,430 |
| New Hampshire | $6.8 | $35,380 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education
Bottom line
All states have student loan debt. How high that number is can be due to factors like the number of institutions, the number of public vs. private schools, the cost of living and the number of students. The state with the highest student loan debt is California and the state with the lowest student loan debt is Wyoming. State student loan debt runs from $151.4 billion to 1.7 billion in Q4 in 2024.
Frequently asked questions
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